Pittsburgher Julie Paris is running in the World Zionist Congress election
A global vote that matters locally
Julie Paris believes that it’s important for American Jews to participate in the World Zionist Congress elections.
“Now more than ever, American Jews need resources to secure our future as thriving communities that can support Israel and fight antisemitism across the country,” she said.
The resources allocated by the World Zionist Congress are significant. Established by Theodor Herzl in 1897, the organization allocates nearly $1 billion annually to support Israel and world Jewry, including the World Zionist Organization, Keren Kayemet LeYisrael — The Jewish Nation Fund and the Jewish Agency for Israel.
The WZC meets every four or five years, according to Herbert Block, the body’s executive director, and acts like a political convention establishing the direction, policies and the next leaders of national organizations, which serve as quasi-governmental institutions: JNF, the Jewish Agency and Keren Kayemet.
Paris said there’s a lot at stake in this year’s election.
“Since the last elections, America has witnessed an unprecedented wave in antisemitism, in part trigged by the Oct. 7 massacre,” she said. “In the past, too many funding decisions by the major institutions connected to the WZC were made based on partisan interests.”
Paris is the Mid-Atlantic regional director of StandWithUs, an international, non-partisan education organization that supports Israel and fights antisemitism. She’s also a candidate for the 39th World Zionist Congress as a member of the Kol Israel party.
She decided to run, she said, because of the “critical need to build unity, empower a new generation of Jewish leaders and fight for the greater good.”
That unity, Paris said, is needed to face many of the challenges facing the Jewish community, both at home and abroad, including BDS referendums, cease-fire resolutions, a rise in antisemitic incidents — including physical assaults, theft, bullying, harassment, intimidation, threats of violence and attempts to push the Jewish community out of public spaces.
Kol Israel, she explained, was revamped in February 2022 but its history goes back to the founding of modern Zionism. The party officially emerged after two parties, the Confederation of General Zionists and Tnuat Hamerkaz Haliberalit Hanoar Hatzioni, merged.
Paris said that Kol Israel will prioritize efforts to fight antisemitism and cultivate the next generation of Jewish leaders, as well as invest in “Zionist visionaries and bold new ideas.”
Pat of Kol Israel’s mission, she said, is advancing youth and other underrepresented groups in the WZC, noting that it has a significant number of college students and women in its ranks.
To further that mission, Paris said Kol Israel will seek to strengthen bonds between Jewish youth in America and Israel by investing in stronger Zionist youth movements, summer camps and other opportunities. It will also focus on combating antisemitism on campuses, in K-12 schools, online and beyond through legal action, education, security and self-defense.
“With so many incredible leaders on our slate, we will empower diverse and younger Jewish voices in the Zionist movement and push for an Office of Zionist Innovation with an accelerator that funds, tests and supports bold new Zionist ideas,” she said.
WZC elections take place every five years, Paris said, which means that $5 billion is at stake over the next half decade.
“We need leaders who will use this funding responsibly for the benefit of all our people,” she said.
In the past, the WZC has made significant investments in many important causes, Paris said, “from aliyah to assisting Jewish communities in Ukraine and Russia, to helping resettle communities displaced throughout the war from both northern and southern Israel.”
Similar to the Congress’ response to immediate needs, she said, the organization needs to put more resources toward the battle against the “tsunami of antisemitism” that has occurred over the last few years, something she called “a ticking time bomb systematically chipping away at the hearts and minds of Jewish youth,” as well as future supporters of Israel.
“To effectively confront this growing wave of hatred, we need to expand our reach. The support of the WZC will be crucial in helping us achieve this goal,” she said.
Paris isn’t the only Pittsburgher on the new Kol Israel slate. Both Karen Gal-Or and Marjorie Manne are also running on the ticket.
Former Pittsburgher Evan Wolfson — who led the fight for marriage equality — is also running for the congress on the Hatikvah Slate, which he said in an email was created as “a unified voice for progressive American Jews.”
Hatikvah, he said, “works for the future of a secure, prosperous, and inclusive Israel that respects women, Jews of color, and LGBT Jews, as well as Palestinians, in a just peace.”
Another new party, ANU: A New Union, includes Pittsburgher Beth Boroumand.
ANU, she said, is comprised exclusively of “Millennials or Gen Z,” with “no affiliation with any political parties or streams of Judaism.” It supports a two-state solution.
There are a total of 21 slates representing viewpoints across the political spectrum, including numerous Pittsburghers. Rabbi Daniel Yolkut is part of the OIC Mizrachi slate and Susan Friedberg Kalson is a member of the Vote Reform slate.
Elections take place March 10 through May 4.
To be eligible to vote in the WZC elections you must be Jewish, 18 or older by June 30, 2025, a U.S. resident or legal permanent resident in the United States, pay a $5 registration fee and have not voted in the Nov. 2022 Knesset election.
To vote, or learn more about the slates and candidates, visit American Zionist Movement website. PJC
If you are a member of a slate seeking election and would like to be included in our online story, please email the Chronicle.
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
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